How to use Qantas Frequent Flyer Points

Whether you want to redeem free flights, upgrades or gift cards, discover all the ways you can cash in your Qantas Frequent Flyer Points.

As a Qantas Frequent Flyers you aren’t short of ways to use your points. From flights and holiday packages to car hire and products from the Qantas Marketplace, this guide takes you through all of the different ways you can spend your Qantas Points and how you can get the most from your rewards.

Flights

As a frequent flyer program, flights are the most obvious way to spend your Qantas Points. Read on to find out how you can use your points to redeem flights, upgrade existing flight bookings or use a combination of points and cash for your next trip.

Classic Flight Rewards

You can use your Qantas Points to fly almost anywhere with Qantas and its network of more than 50 partner airlines and affiliates. While there are many one-way, return and multi-destination Classic Flight Reward destinations available, these are subject to availability and you may need to be a little flexible with travel dates and flight times.

The number of points required will also depend on the fare class (for example, economy or business), destination, route and retail cost of the flwineight.

When browsing flights on the Qantas website, you can opt to search Classic Flight Rewards to compare available routes and the number of points you’ll need. But to give you an idea of how far your points could take you, we’ve provided a few examples below. Please note that we’ve given a few different domestic and international options, and we’ve varied the routes and fare classes to show you how the points cost can vary depending on these details.

Fare classReturn/one wayDepartureDestinationNumber of points
EconomyReturnSydney, CanberraBrisbane16,000
EconomyReturnSydney, Brisbane, CanberraDarwin36,000
BusinessOne waySydneyAuckland31,000
BusinessOne wayBrisbane, CanberraAuckland41,500
BusinessReturnSydney, BrisbaneHong Kong150,000
BusinessReturnCanberraHong Kong194,200
EconomyOne waySydney, BrisbaneDubai50,300
EconomyOne wayCanberraDubai58,300
BusinessReturnAdelaide, HobartSydney55,200
EconomyReturnAdelaideGold Coast19,200
EconomyOne wayAdelaideRome61,500
BusinessReturnAdelaideDenpasar62,000
BusinessOne wayPerthDarwin41,500
EconomyReturnPerthParis149,400
EconomyOne wayPerthDublin65,200
EconomyOne wayDarwinDublin61,200
EconomyReturnPerthChristchurch45,500
EconomyReturnDarwinChristchurch40,600
EconomyReturnDarwinLos Angeles132,400
EconomyReturnHobartPhuket63,000
BusinessOne wayHobartLas Vegas276,000

Details sourced from the Qantas website and correct at the time of writing in July 2021.

It’s also important to note that additional taxes, fees and carrier charges may apply in addition to the points required.

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Our expert says

"Don't let the other choices fool you - using Qantas Points on Qantas flights gets you more bang for your buck. Partner airline flights are much harder to come by, and shopping redemptions are much lower value."

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Editor-at-large

Partnered airlines

While you can’t exchange your Qantas Points for frequent flyer points with another loyalty program, you can use your points to redeem flights with partnered airlines. You can redeem your points with airlines within the oneworld Alliance, including Jetstar, American Airlines, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines. Other partnered airlines include Emirates and Alaska Airlines.

Points plus pay

If you don’t have enough points to redeem your chosen Classic Flight Reward, you can opt to pay with a combination of points and cash using “points plus pay”. You need a minimum of 5,000 points for Qantas flights or 3,500 for Jetstar flights to use points plus pay.

Classic Upgrade Rewards

If you’ve already booked your flights but would prefer to fly in luxury, you can also use your points to upgrade an existing flight to a higher fare class. The number of points you’ll need for a Classic Upgrade Reward will depend on the fare class you’re upgrading to and the route of the flight. However, you can log into your frequent flyer account and manage your flights to request an upgrade and compare your options.

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Qantas Club

The Qantas Club offers frequent flyer members unlimited access to the largest airline lounge network in Australia and overseas as well as exclusive check-in services and complimentary guest visits. The perks you can expect from your Qantas Club membership include:

  • Lounge access. Members receive unlimited access to the Qantas Club, Qantas International Business as well as selected lounges when travelling with partnered airlines
  • Guest visits. Members can invite one complimentary guest each time they travel.
  • On Departure Upgrade Rewards. You can use your Qantas Points to upgrade domestic Classic Flight Rewards on departure.
  • Additional checked baggage and priority check-in. You can take advantage of additional checked baggage when flying Economy and Premium Economy, plus you’ll receive priority check-in on Qantas flights.
  • Qantas meeting rooms. You can save with discounts on Qantas meeting rooms in Australia.

These perks don’t come for free, but you could save on the costs if you use your Qantas Points to cover your membership fees. Compare your options below:

Individual membership - New members

Type of membershipMembership feesRegular cost
One year93,000 points$600
Two years170,000 points$1,100
Four years308,000 points$2,000

As a new member, there's also a one-off 16,000 Qantas Points joining fee. This is valued at $99.

Individual membership - Existing members

Type of membershipMembership feesRegular cost
One year78,000 points$410
Two years155,000 points$740
Four years285,000 points$1,400

Partner membership - New members

As long as you both reside at the same address, your spouse or partner can also take advantage of Qantas Club perks at a reduced rate.

Type of membershipMembership feesRegular cost
One year56,000$360
Two years102,000$660
Four years185,000$1,200

As a new member, there's also a one-off 16,000 Qantas Points joining fee. This is valued at $99.

Partner membership - Existing members

Type of membershipMembership feesRegular cost
One year52,000 points$360
Two years89,000 points$620
Four years155,000 points$1,150

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Qantas Marketplace

If you don’t have enough points to redeem a flight or don’t have any travel plans coming up, you can also use your Qantas Points to redeem products from the Qantas Marketplace. When you visit the online store, you can browse rewards by categories such as electronics, travel, homewares, fashion and beauty, food and wine as well as gift cards.

The number of points you’ll require will vary depending on the retail price of the product, but we’ve provided a few examples to show you the potential of your points.

ProductCategoryNumber of points required
Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones IIElectronics69,390 points
Apple iPhone 12 256GBElectronics278,080 points
Fitbit Charge 4Sports and fitness43,300 points
Callaway APEX 21 HybridSports and fitness76,340 points
Seiko Men's Coutura Black Solar WatchFashion62,500 points (on sale from 104,170 points)
Pandora Signature Silver Hoop EarringsFashion18,950 points
Jimmy Choo, Illicit - Eau de Parfum, 100mlBeauty28,860 points
Dyson Supersonic HairdryerBeauty95,470 points
$100 Netflix gift cardGift cards19,330 points
$100 Woolworths WISH physical gift cardGift cards20,730 points

Details sourced from the Qantas Marketplace and correct at the time of writing in July 2021.

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Hotels

As well as flights, you can help save on travel costs by using your points to redeem accommodation. If you redeem your points for Classic Hotel Rewards, you’ll have over 200,000 choices to compare. Whether you want to cover the cost with points or points plus pay, you can compare options ranging from budget hotels to five-star luxury resorts in Australia and overseas. Some of the popular partnered hotels include Hyatt, Shangri-La and Rydges. When comparing your options, look out for the “Classic Reward” symbol and choose to view the prices in points.

Luxury Escapes

You can also redeem your Qantas Points for lavish hotel stays with Luxury Escapes. If you haven't already, join Luxury Escapes and follow the prompts to link your Frequent Flyer and Luxury Escapes accounts. You'll then have the option of using Qantas Points for all or part of your eligible holiday booking. You'll even earn 1 Qantas Point per $1 spent, even if you're opting to pay with points.

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Car hire

Whether you’re going on a road trip for the weekend or need a car for your overseas holiday, you can also use Qantas Points to cover the cost of car hire with Qantas’ car hire partners.

The number of points you’ll need will depend on the retail cost, but you can redeem your points to pay for vehicle rentals from Avis, Budget, Hertz or Thrifty in over 600 locations worldwide.

Use our guide on Qantas car rentals for more tips on earning and spending Qantas Points on car rentals.

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Qantas Wine

If you prefer the finer things in life, you can turn your points into pinot by redeeming your Qantas Points for wine, spirits and gourmet food from the Qantas Wine online store.

If you want to use your Qantas Points to buy wine, look out for the “Classic Wine Rewards” logo when you’re browsing the online store. This is because you’ll receive exclusive discounts of up to 55% off when you buy a Classic Wine Reward using your points. Then when you’re checking out, you can select to pay with Qantas Points.

See our guide to Qantas Wine for more information on how to earn and redeem points on your next wine purchase as well as the latest bonus points offers to check out.

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Qantas Insurance

While insurance is a grudge purchase for most of us, Qantas Insurance helps reward frequent flyers for protecting themselves. Whether you’re looking for health insurance or travel insurance, you can use your points to cover the cost.

The number of points will vary depending on your quote. If you have enough points to cover the cost of your premium, you’ll be offered the choice of paying with points at the checkout. Visit the Qantas website to get a quote and see if you have enough points to cover your insurance policy.

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Auto rewards

If you want to make redeeming your points even more convenient, you can opt to automatically convert your Qantas Points to WISH eGift cards up to four times a year. Once it’s landed in your inbox, you can either print the eGift card or download it onto your phone to present at any participating Woolworths, Big W, BWS or Dan Murphy's stores or when shopping online to save at the checkout.

On 1 February, 1 May, 1 August and 1 November each year, Qantas total up your points and emails you an eGift card depending on your points balance. You can compare the potential savings below:

Value of the gift cardNumber of points required
$5750 points
$101,500 points
$152,250 points
$203,000 points

If you’re a Qantas Frequent Flyer, you’re not strapped for choices when deciding how to spend your hard-earned points. Some rewards will offer better value for your money though, so make sure to compare your options before you start spending!

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Sally McMullen is a journalist with five years of experience covering credit cards and consumer finance. As co-host of the Two Broke Chicks podcast and co-author of Rich In Life, Sally shares valuable money-saving tips and life lessons with her audience. Sally was a Credit Cards Editor at Finder from 2015 to 2020. See full bio

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55 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    MichelleOctober 3, 2016

    I’m looking at a flight to bali from 5/11/17 to 12/11/17. The cost of the return flight is $859 as of today. I have 9000 frequent flyer points. Can I put these towards the cost of the return flight? If so, what will the flight cost be reduced to?

      Sally McMullen's headshotFinder
      SallyOctober 10, 2016Finder

      Hi Michelle,

      Thanks for your question.

      As a financial comparison service, we’re unable to confirm exactly what the cash price difference is once you use your points to redeem a portion of the flight. This will vary from flight to flight, so you might prefer to go through the booking process, nominating that you’d like to use Points Plus Pay and see how much you’ll need to pay in cash before processing the payment. You can do this on a few different flights to compare your options.

      Cheers,

      Sally

    Default Gravatar
    LeaSeptember 16, 2016

    I am wanting to fly to Bali in Jan 2017 with my husband and 3 children. I currently have 27500 points, each other family member has 17500 points. I am about to fly return to PNG next week. I am aware that we need 20000 points each. Am I able to combine all our points through the family share and book for everyone. I have had trouble just booking a return flight, no details will come up? thanks

      Sally McMullen's headshotFinder
      SallySeptember 19, 2016Finder

      Hi Lea,

      Thanks for your question.

      Unfortunately, Qantas doesn’t offer a family pooling system. Instead, you might need to transfer 2,500 Qantas Points to your children’s frequent flyer accounts so you can redeem the flights using their accumulated points.

      You can use our guide about transferring Qantas points and learn how to transfer your Qantas Frequent Flyer Points to family members for further information.

      I hope this has helped.

      Cheers,

      Sally

    Default Gravatar
    JohnSeptember 13, 2016

    How many points are required to travel from Melbourne to Tokyo business class in October 2017?

      Sally McMullen's headshotFinder
      SallySeptember 14, 2016Finder

      Hi John,

      Thanks for your question.

      You can use the Qantas Points calculator to estimate how many points you’ll need, though the amount may vary depending on the particular flight you choose.

      According to the Qantas Points calculator, you’d need 57,600 Qantas Points to fly business class from Melbourne to Tokyo.

      When you’re booking your flight, you can choose to pay with points and it’ll show you how many points you need to redeem the flight before you check out.

      I hope this has helped.

      Cheers,

      Sally

    Default Gravatar
    JohnAugust 31, 2016

    What are my possible destinations traveling at the cheapest time of year? I HAVE 17,000 points.

      Default GravatarFinder
      DeeAugust 31, 2016Finder

      Hi John,

      Thanks for your question.

      I’ve sent you an email with a link to Qantas Points Calculator where you can check some possible destinations for the points you have already accumulated.

      Cheers,
      Anndy

    Default Gravatar
    TrudyAugust 25, 2016

    Can you tell me how many frequent flyer points needed for Sydney to Hong Kong , then to Singapore back to Sydney please .

      Default GravatarFinder
      DeeAugust 25, 2016Finder

      Hi Trudy,

      Thanks for your question.

      Here are the points required for Classic Flight Reward with Qantas and partner airlines

      (Sydney – Hong Kong) Business class – 60000, Premium Economy – 45000, Economy – 28000
      (Hong Kong to Singapore) First class – 14400, Business – 38000, Economy- 14400
      (Singapore – Sydney) First class – 95000, Business – 60000, Economy – 28000

      Please note that some travel classes are not available for a particular destination.

      I’ve also forwarded to your email the link to Qantas Points Calculator so you can check the points required for other redemption options.

      Cheers,
      Anndy

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